Review of Hotel Mat's, Poznan
Be advised to stay away from this hotel!
After leaving the very centralized city of Turin we drove for 4 hours along a
stretch of highway that though wasn't the worst we'd seen in Poland...it was a
long way from being a safe or good highway. We finally arrived in the spread out
city of Poznan, Poland around 1:30 PM on the 19th of July, 2006. As normal we
followed the signs to the city center or Centrum, as its named in Poland and
strolled around the large center square where most locals, and especially the
tourists, gather for drinks and dining in the endless string of restaurants and
sidewalk cafes. The square is lined with beautiful old churches and other 16th
century buildings with astounding architecture. The scene is repeated across
Europe and as usual is the very heart of the cities.
We walked into several center hotels, but all were full, so we picked up a
tourists brochure with a map and started calling the listed hotels. Each one
called stated that they offered a full amenity hotel, but none had air
conditioning or the internet, much less a pool. I'm still confused at what
amenities they meant...a bed? After
several stops at overly inflated and totally unacceptable hotels we called the
Hotel Mat's. It was quite far from the
center, but we were tired and unlike the others they did have air-conditioning
and internet. I was quoted a slightly inflated price and agreeing we headed out to
the hotel. It was a long and difficult drive across the city, but after a while
we finally located it. We were not impressed with its location in an industrial
- heavy residential area, but went ahead and checked in believing we were paying
the price quoted. Dakota wanted to go back to the center, so after unpacking I drove him and got
quite lost on the way back. With the awkward winding streets and lack of visible
street signs, not to mention the language barrier in which asking for
directions was worthless, to say the least...and its not the easiest place to drive
in to begin with and all combined it was a nightmare. After a frustrating hour or so I
finally got back to the hotel and when I walked in I was immediately asked for
payment for the room. When checking in no one had said a word about paying in
advance, but all of a sudden now it seemed urgent that I pay. It was no problem,
so I agreed and asked for the total nightly amount and was bluntly told a
much higher price...not only for the room, but I was being charged $10 dollars
to park my small rental car in their open unsecured lot and was even being
charged additional for the use of their very slow internet. Needless to say I
was surprised and asked for the manager...the same man that said I could pay the
next day. At this time he was anything but helpful and told me they charge for
all additional services and I must pay the quoted amount for the room. It didn't
seem to concern him in the slightest when I informed him of the much lower
amount I was quoted on the phone. So much for my decision to spend of choosing to stay at this disgusting hotel. What started
out to be a barely acceptable hotel at an over priced hotel
turned into a much more costlier stay. The same room with more amenities would
normally rent for about $40 US dollars in most regions of the USA and to top it
off...I was having to pay extra for the internet and for parking? If it hadn't have
been so late and I hadn't been so tired I would have checked out and informed
this despicable man and his immensely rude staff to shove it!!! And to add
insult to injury...he had entered my room while I was driving to town and turned
off the air-conditioning. I had flipped it on to cool off the unbearable heat of
the room...conservation I'm all for it, but I don't like anyone entering my
rented space without my consent.
The owner of this hotel has some weird gestation
with cuckoo clocks, as there must be a 100 in the halls and dining room. They
are, however a good distraction from the horrible breakfast and cold coffee. In
my opinion the owner might have spent less on the decorations and spent more
hiring and training some staff with at least a few human traits...like decency,
and if not genuine friendliness, train them to at least portray some cordial
behavior toward the naive guests that dare decide to stay there...
Travelers Digest does not recommend the Hotel Mats
located at: PL.60-378 Poznan, ul. Bulgarska 115.
